19 March 2010 - Utilities in several US states have recently embraced new energy storage technologies as part of the deployment of advanced smart grids, reports the US Department of Energy (DOE) in its Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy newsletter. Smart grid and power storage technologies are seen by many as the key to the connection of large amounts of distributed generation capacity.
In Ohio, International Battery will supply large-format lithium-ion batteries for the new community energy storage (CES) system, a distributed energy storage system developed by S&C Electric Company for American Electric Power (AEP). AEP Ohio's gridSMART Demonstration Project, funded in part by a $75 million DOE grant using Recovery Act funds, will be deployed to 110,000 of the utility's customers in an area around Columbus. The CES systems will be added to certain AEP circuits in the gridSMART test area to provide improved distribution line efficiencies, local back-up power in case of outages, better integration of community renewable power, and support for plug-in electric cars.
AEP has also been testing the use of large-scale sodium-sulphur (NaS) batteries for energy storage on the grid, says DOE. AEP installed a 1.2 MW NaS battery near Charleston, West Virginia, in 2006, followed by three 2 MW NaS batteries in Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia in 2008. California is following suit, as the California Energy Commission (CEC) has awarded $2 million to Pacific Gas and Electric Company for a 36-month NaS battery demonstration project. The utility will invest an additional $13 million in the 4 MW system, which will have a storage capacity of 28 MWh. Once installed and operating, this will be the largest stationary battery energy storage system in California. It too is seen as a key to the future use of smart grid technology, and as a way to integrate renewable and distributed energy sources into the grid.
And, in the application of a different technology, the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) and Ice Energy have announced a 53 MW project using ice energy storage to provide utility-scale distributed energy storage, adds DOE. Ice Energy's products produce ice during off-peak hours and use it for cooling commercial buildings during peak hours. By combining hundreds of these systems with the smart grid, the systems can work together to act as a large distributed energy storage system.
